This invention relates to a supporting structure for maintaining a flexible container such as a plastic shopping bag in an upright open position for the placement of articles to be transported therein. The flexible container is removably secured to the supporting structure to permit the lifting of the container when filled for transport.
The economic pressures of modern retailing have initiated a move towards the replacement of heavy paper shopping bags for the transport of purchased articles to the use of thin film plastic bags. The plastic bags are significantly lower in cost, easier to store prior to use and can be manufactured in a variety of colors to accentuate the trade names of the establishment providing the carriers.
The major disadvantage associated with the use of this type of container is its inability to be self-supporting when in an upright position both during the time that it is being filled at the store and later when a secondary use is being made by the consumer at another location. For years, the brown paper bag has provided the general public with a convenient self-supporting reuseable container, and the substitution therefor of the non-rigid plastic container has met with growing dissatisfaction on the part of the consuming public to the point where it is felt that consumers are altering their purchasing patterns in favor of stores continuing to provide the traditional brown paper container for the transport of purchased articles.
The present invention is directed to the provision of apparatus for supporting the thin film plastic container in an upright and open position to facilitate both loading and unloading during initial use or for subsequent usage at a new location. One objective of the invention is to provide a supporting structure which can be readily assembled and disassembled for storage.
Further, the present invention when in the disassembled state is compact for storage as a relatively thin planar collection of piece parts when compared with the assembled supporting structure. Another object of the invention is to provide a low cost support apparatus having few individual parts to provide simplified assembly and thereby promote acceptance by the public.